August 10, 2013

As a fourth-round draft pick, B.W. Webb's spot on the roster is all but guaranteed. The Cowboys have carried David Arkin, a fourth-round pick in 2011, for two years without him doing much of anything. But if Webb wasn't a high pick, he might be in danger of not making the roster.

The William & Mary product has struggled mightily thus far.

He had three tackles in 76 plays in the Hall of Fame Game against the Dolphins, giving up four passes for 29 yards while being targeted six times, according to Pro Football Focus. He had three tackles against the Raiders and was a favorite target of Raiders' quarterbacks. He also fumbled a punt.

As if it couldn't get worse for Webb, he was called out by his coach -- who rarely does that -- afterward.

"You are not allowed to have one of those nights," Garrett said. "One of things you are looking for in any kind of players, a young guy or a veteran is you want to make sure they respond to the successes and adversities of the game. He had a couple of missed tackles early on for him. I thought he came back and tackled better. Then, he had the dropped punt. You're not allowed to have bad nights. You never excuse it away to that. You have to keep battling, fighting, whatever opportunity you get, you've got to make sure you are taking advantage of it."

It is safe to say Webb will not be used on punts. His fourth-quarter muff was recovered by the Raiders at the Dallas 9, and they scored the go-ahead field goal.

"Certainly, he’s got enough skill and has done enough good things out there," Cowboys owner Jerry Jones said. "We’ve seen him on punts and seen him have to get used to it. He’s not ready, as far as training camp is concerned, to drop back there and get under those punts. We saw that some in training camp. We’ve seen it. It was disappointing he couldn’t get his feet back under him and get back and at least recover the ball. First of all, it really gave us an uphill battle in the ball game. That will be something I’m sure he keeps in his mind."